Oak Ridge Investments LLC Has $18.99 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,063 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Oak Ridge Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Oak Ridge Investments LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $525.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.